For 25 years, the Gardner Center has worked in close partnership with school districts in the San Francisco Bay Area to develop research-informed policies, programs, and practices that support positive and equitable youth development. Several of these partnerships involve districts that are not part of a unified school district, meaning that…

In recent years, multiple physics education research studies were conducted with a goal of understanding and improving graduate education in physics. Using a variety of frameworks and methodologies, these studies have documented policies and practices in graduate programs and the results of these studies have influenced policies and practices…

As students enter the middle grades, many lose academic momentum and thus reach ninth grade unprepared. This lack of preparedness snowballs: It leads students to disengage from their studies, causing them to miss opportunities to get back on track in high school and thrive in the years beyond. Sixth grade is a particularly critical juncture.…

University enabling programs provide historically underrepresented students with aspirational gateways and the academic skills and knowledges essential for success at university. Measurement of the efficacy of such programs has been typically neoliberal and quantitative in nature. This article argues for a nuanced measurement of success, exploring…

Background: Various studies have established that the transition from high school to university for first-year students is problematic. Research confirms that most students experience challenges with reading for meaning due to underdeveloped reading abilities. Objectives: This article investigates the first-year students' transition from high…

We present the findings from our inquiry conducted between spring 2019 and spring 2020. It focused on women and students from underrepresented or marginalized populations as they navigated moments in their transition from school to university mathematics, or the secondary-tertiary transition (STT) in mathematics. We draw on Di Martino & Zan's…

Postgraduate Taught study (PGT) students are often assumed to be confident and independent learners, and many possess a strong sense of professional identity and thus are perceived as not requiring support. This paper aims to address these perceptions. This paper presents a qualitative study of the experiences of PGT students at an Australian…

As students transition from high school to university, they must navigate new academic learning environments, develop new social networks, manage multiple new responsibilities, explore and regulate independence, and deal with the stressors that they will encounter. Successful transitioning to university often involves sources of support as well as…

A persistent challenge for Australian higher education policymakers and researchers has been to understand why policies and practices have met with limited success in widening the participation and attainment of non-traditional students. This paper explores theorising Narrative Identity as a constructive methodological framework for understanding…

The transition to university can be challenging, and while universities provide orientation support, many students still struggle. Extending orientation through embedded supports and skill building in first-year curricula provides students opportunities to develop the academic skills required for university while growing confidence. This study…

First-Year Experience (FYE) courses are found in colleges across the United States to support students' transition to college (McBride et al., 2021, "Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition" 33:99-119, Young & Keup, 2016, "New Directions for Community Colleges" 2016:57-69). This study explored how…

Many initiatives attempt to smooth transitions between 2-year colleges and 4-year universities, but retention and graduation rates for transfer-students are still low, especially in STEM. The Transfer-student Research and Integration Program (TRIP) at the University of Central Florida was developed to meet the needs of a diverse transfer…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore what college students' lived experiences were regarding the influence of outdoor orientation programs on their abilities to cope with transition-related stressors at one Arizona college. The study utilized two theoretical frameworks to understand the lived experience of…

Student veterans face a multitude of transitions throughout their life, with the initial transition into the military as a civilian, the possibility of multiple transitions throughout their enlistment, and the transition from military service to readjusting to life as a civilian following discharge. As veterans reintegrate into society, some…

In this qualitative research, ten student veterans studied the sense of belonging among non-traditional undergraduate student veterans at a private, liberal arts four-year university in New Jersey. These participants, representing various armed services branches, provided valuable insights into the challenges of transitioning from military to…